AUSTIN, GEORGIA -- All the money was stolen from my card $890.00 on 05-12-20012. 2 days before this happened my account was blocked so I called customers service and was told that somebody has been calling in on my account and they askedd if it was me and I said no and that the person was 1 digit off and so that's why they blocked my account OK good. Then I was told that I had to send over documents to the fraud department. I asked to speak to the fraud department then I was told that I could not speak to the fraud department because the fraud department does not speak to customers directly I could only fax them or email them. I emailed them the documents that they had requested and then they unblocked my account. OK the next morning Casey M. Rumph transferred $890.00 from my account to there account I received a text telling me this so I immediately called Netspend to let them know that I didn't do this transaction and I need the money put back into my account. Well Casey had made a transaction of $705.23 and they put $184.77 back on my account now I had to go to the claims department to dispute the transaction so that I could get my money back.

Now here is where the problems come in why was it that when my account was blocked the first time and I called in and askedd to speak to the fraud department I was told that they do not speak to customers directly I could only email or fax them, but now that my money is stolen I can speak with the fraud department? The fraud department the ordered me a new card, changed my pin number, and my security question. Now that my money is stolen and I have to wait 2 weeks 10 business days its OK to speak with the fraud department?

When I finally did speak with the fraud department I askedd them this same question then I was told it is up to the customer service person to determine if they will transfer you to the fraud department or not. That is crazy and a policy that needs to be changed immediately because if I was allowed to speak with the fraud department when this fist happened and they blocked the account I would have changed the information then and they would not have been able to steal the money. My account being blocked and I had to send forums to the fraud department should have been enough cause for me to speak with the fraud department then also and this nightmare would not have happened.

Your foreign customer service is the worst I have ever experienced very hard to understand English, rude will only answer question that they want to ask not the questions that you asked them.

I have been a Netspend customer for many years and have quite of my friends that use Netspend because I told them about it, and this is the worst experience I have ever had with any company. I hope you will straighten this matter very soon and I hope to here from you soon and get this matter resolved.

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NetSpend Works For Me

Posted by Hollywood.Tattoos on 04/24/2010

I have had NetSpend for a few months now. With the economy I do not trust banks, so I was refuse to take my checks to a bank. I have been ripped off not once, but twice by a huge banking corporation and honestly was a bit stand offish about using NetSpend. Being a tattoo artist, I was making too much money to carry around in my wallet and after having my house robbed about a year ago, I don't trust leaving anything too valuable in my home. I was talking to one of the artists I work with about giving him some money to put on his card so that I could order this really nice tattoo machine online. He pulled out his wallet and showed me his NetSpend card and said "Why don't you go buy one of these from HEB? They are like $5 and its free to put your money on them. I've had mine for about 2 years and have never once had a problem." So during my break I went to go buy one and was actually disappointed at first when I found out that any transaction would cost me money, but then I was offered one of the spending plans that is only a little over $7 a month (which honestly is not that big of a deal). They have to make money to stay in business. I was more happy with that plan. I then created my account and found out all of the great things that a lot of other banks never offered me. Like you have the option of receiving a text message every time there is money spent on your card. I thought it would get annoying but its actually reassuring. It literally tells you what time, where, and how much was spent. So if you are actually able to track your card down if you really wanted to. The texts come in immediately after you swipe the card. Also you are given an option of free direct deposit, which most banks charge you a fee for. The company also gives you an option of free bank transfer. Which is awesome because if you have a bank and you have money there, but you want to use your net spend card, there you go. Honestly the main problem with the bank I was going with was that my card would get stolen, and I'd be in debt even though I reported it stolen the moment it got stolen. They would still allow my account to be open. NetSpend deletes the card as soon as you call them. Also I love that you can't possibly get any overages. That saves me a lot of money. Sure I don't have extra money that isn't mine to spend if I need it, but I don't get into debt. There are a lot of great things about NetSpend that I haven't mentioned, but you get the point. I feel safe with NetSpend mainly because of the texting option. I don't think I will go with another bank as long as NetSpend is around.

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Netspend Scam

Posted by CC17 on 06/22/2010

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- My name is Clayton Chambers. I work for the Federal Trade Commission and the goal of my company is to take class action against companies whom we deem as fraudulent or who seem to Misrepresent themselves or who are crafty with their Deceptive business practices in scamming consumers unknowingly. However, multiple consumers must call and make claims as we do not act on individual complaints, we rather look for trends and patterns in law violations and report them to our investigators and detectives who then take action against the company in question. I have reviewed all the complaints on this website and they are all about the same issue regarding Netspend. I defended this company on numerous occasions when filing complaints for consumers across the country telling them that it is the merchants fault when in actuality it is Netspend's wrong doings. I have recently found this out the hard way.

I am sorry for everyone who sees this that has at least attempted to contact the FTC in regards to your debit cards being wiped clean for no apparent reason or having your funds disappear in a matter of hours. For example I checked my account at 9:30 in the morning and by lunch which is at 2:00 Pm Eastern Time my $100 + dollars had been taken off. They said that I had used it at a Gas station for 5 Dollars and an ATM withdrawal for $80. If I'm not mistaken 80+5=$85, so where the hell are my remaining funds. Also I have attempted to provide them with Timecard records for the day in question to show that I did not make those transactions and they denied them. Netspend corporation has repeatedly made unauthorized transactions that I did not approve or in some cases did not even have the funds available for. Upon calling the institution in which they inform you that they will transfer you to their supervisor only to place you on hold for a lengthy amount of time and come back on the line only to try to deceive you with a different dialect than the previous agent. (The same person who said he would transfer you to a supervisor IS the same agent even after he states that he is the supervisor) I have caught several agents trying to dupe me into thinking I'm speaking with a higher authority and I am not. They had little to say after they were caught. Although my disputes only amount to about 200-250 dollars, the times that they have made these unauthorized transactions came costly as I was taken to court for bills that were not paid due to their negligence. I have read some claims on here were people have lost hundreds or in some cases thousands of dollars.

I urge everyone to contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-438-4338 and report this company so we can take action against them. The purported purpose of class action lawsuits is to give the common man the ability to take on the largest corporate or private entities (who can afford the very best legal services) and have a chance of redressing the wrong done by these entities. It is important to remember that even though the actual damage or cost to the individual class member may be small, the illicit gain to the corporate entity can be huge if done to hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of class members.

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Net Spend Deceptive and Fraudulent Practices

Posted by marshallsmagic196 on 11/11/2014

Rating: 1/51

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Good Morning My name is Aaron Christopher Marshall Sr. and I am a Connecticut native residing in Huntsville Alabama. I hope my email reaches the recipient and their interests in the riches of good health and happiness. My reason for this correspondence is to make an attempt to alert consumers during the holiday season about a company that does not stand by their product and has internal issues as it relates to security and safety of your personal funds and or money. I have become a victim and want to empower others before the get duped like my wife and I have. On October 27th and 28th I purchased two pre paid Net Spend load packs from Walgreens' in Huntsville Alabama. What my wife and I did not know prior to paying 307.80 for both cards was the fact that we had to request a debit card from Net Spend to load the funds on to. Once I paid the 307.80 I had to wait a few days for the debit card to arrive to my place of residence. I received the Net Spend debit card on Thursday October 30th, 2014 and proceeded to call the Net Spend number listed to load the 300.00 onto my debit card. The 7.80 were fees for the purchase of both cards. What would happen next would truly and literally blind side my wife and I. Both cards were already loaded onto another Net Spend account without our authorization. Net Spend has chose to implicate the customer in having to do something with the theft of these cards. What I have gathered from this incident is. Whoever has stole this money has to be an internal employee of Net Spend. An employee within the Mid Level or higher management team who can oversee any and all inquiries of issues of this magnitude and nature. I have spoke to an employee of Net Spend named "Billy ". Mr. has informed me my money has been loaded onto another Net Spend account and there is nothing he can do concerning this theft of my funds. I was informed to contact the Huntsville Police Department concerning theft of funds with an online banking company. The person who can steal this funds would have the capacity to control all avenues and areas of the investigation process without being considered a suspect in the theft of funds of their customers. I have filed several complaints and have contacted businesses who partner with Net Spend to inform them of what has happened to my money and the stand the company has not chose to take. I have emailed several departments within the Net Spend umbrella and one employee continues to be the only person I can speak to and make contact with. Mr. has more or less informed me my money has been stolen and has been applied to another account within the Net Spend accounts. My question was why can't you suspend the account the money was loaded on and proceed to inquire to the person owning the account how did he come into possession of another customer's money and or funds. When one person is privy to all avenues of the investigation process of funds stolen one would have to make an informed decision to believe the person stealing the money can very well be the same person managing all avenues of the investigation process. I was told know matter who I contact within Net Spend all communications will be reviewed on his desk. I am urging all who will listen to inform consumers of this practice before they experience what my wife and I have experienced. My wife and I were traveling to Connecticut to see our oldest son and spend time with family. This has been very stressful on my beautiful wife and I. We do not have 300.00 just to blow in the wind. I am saddened the company would take the standpoint and implicate me. Please ensure all of your consumers are aware of this companies practices. There is no constructive way for this money to have been stolen other than a Net Spend internal mechanism having the ability to cipher the funds without the customer's authorization and or approval. Net Spend is a subsidiary of TSYS of Columbus Georgia. I have contacted the offices of Mr. M. and his subordinates concerning this very deceptive scheme taking place within the scope of his Net Spend Company. I have filed a complaint with FBI Internet Crimes Complaint Center, The Texas Watch Consumer Outlet, The Texas and Alabama Attorney General and still working on other avenues to uncover this very deliberate and organized scheme against consumers of Net Spend and or their business partners. Thank you for any and all consideration to inform customers prior to purchasing this pre-paid load pack. Please do not allow your consumers to experience what I have been dealing with since the 30th of October. I cannot sleep, eat or think straight knowing somebody can simply take your money and there is no cause and or action you can take to recover your funds.

Respectfully,

Aaron C Marshall Sr.

4102 D South Memorial Pkwy

Huntsville Alabama 35802

256-650-0824

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Net Spend Defrauded Customer

Posted by Anthony on 01/16/2014

Rating: 1/51

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- I had paid my wife's insurance premium using my NetSpend card.
My wife had an accident and totaled the vehicle. We canceled our insurance policy and they refunded our policy payments retroactively to the date of the accident. The insurance company sent 2 refunds to the card they had on record (NetSpend). One on Thursday and another on Friday. A day later my account was frozen without notice or explanation.

When I called customer service (and I use that title very loosely because they're third world country customer service representatives are barely understandable) they told me that my account was frozen due to fraud activity. Insinuating that I had committed some type of fraud.
They also told me that I can have my insurance company take the money back and send me a check. This would release my other funds I have available on the card. So, I called my insurance company and they told me there is no way to cancel a refund once it has gone through and accepted. They also told me that the card company can reverse the transaction on their end. But NetSpend reps claimed they are not able to do that, which is a blatant lie.
I have a merchant account and I know first hand that transactions can be reversed by the bank or the merchant.

The representative asked that I send them proof of the transaction. I immediately complied and sent them documentation from the insurance company. This was on Saturday afternoon. They told me once they receive the documents it may take up to 8 hours to unfreeze my account and release my money.

I printed out the documentation from my insurance company. I faxed the paperwork over to the number they provided me with. I received confirmation that the documents were received. In addition, I also emailed the same documents to the email address they provided me with. All emails were confirmed received.

There was never any response from them that night. I called on Sunday and asked for a Supervisor. The phone representative avoided getting a supervisor by stalling and putting me on hold for 15 minutes. They did the same on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I have been placed on hold several times, for upwards of 40 minutes each time. I have document these phone calls for future reference. The company's customer service tactics are proof that this is a criminal organization who intentionally refuses to help their customers and attempts to defraud them of their money.
Unfortunately, I have given up after spending so much time trying to rectify this matter and have gotten nowhere with these people.

I now believe the money has been stolen and I am forced to take legal action against NetSpend and Meta Bank.
In addition, I will be filing a criminal complaint with the New York State Attorney Generals office as well as the Office of the Comptroller of Currency.
After reading about so many customers who have been robbed by this company I have come to the conclusion that the defrauded customers should file a class action lawsuit against these criminals.

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Typical company full of subtle thieves

Posted by TexasConsumer on 07/10/2011

Certain situations in life pushed me to open a prepaid card with Netspend, which I immediately regretted due to the ridiculous unnecessary fee charges here and there that most legitimate financial institutions/crooks don't charge. You're looking at 3 dollars to upload money, 5 to 10 dollars monthly fee for allowing you to use your debit card anytime, anywhere (accept for at an ATM), without incurring extra charges, you're again looking at fees for removing more than a certain amount of money from your account each day, meaning if you have to pay rent and need to withdraw a large amount, you better plan ahead... and so on and so forth. After a while I became used to the fees and learned how to make my card work for me. Yes, it's not going to be as convenient as an account with a legitimate bank (no atms, can't withdraw money whenever you want unless you go to another providers ATM and allow yourself to be subject to their fees, can;t transfer money as easily.. etc), but if you pay attention and stay one step ahead then your Netspend account can work in your favor (which is way more work than a card is worth). For a while I didn't have any issues.. until..

THis past month on 06/30/2011, for the first time in two years, I received an over draft fee. I have text alerts, and was not alerted that my account was in the over draft zone. I couldn't believe it, so I contacted customer service and explained my stance on the issue, and let the agent know that I do not regularly have this problem, so I should receive a convenience refund. Yes, I do feel that I am entitled to receiving my fee back. Well, this agent immediately started with the "I'm sorry Ms. ****, but we cannot refund the fee as we can prove the text was sent". I was infuriated because instead of understanding my stance, this little mind warped customer service agent was treating me like I was trying to rob the company, when in fact the company had robbed me. I explained to her that I have not received an over draft fee charge to date, and have been a loyal customer, so I should be refunded this charge, which again led the agent to apologize and say I shouldn't receive the refund. I asked for a supervisor, and guess what folks, I was on the line waiting for 40 minutes before one came on. I think their game is to drag you out and frustrate you into submission. Once a supervisor came on, I again explained my issue and said I was not notified. See, my logic isn't that I should receive a refund because I was not notified, my logic is, and I explained this, that I have been paying ridiculous, absurd fees to this parody of a legitimate company for about 2 years, and have not complained once, and now that I am requested the service be returned to me as a loyal customer, these people, whose paychecks my fees pay, are holding onto my money and making it theirs without a second thought. The supervisor said she would place me on hold and contact some other department to check if I could get the refund.. about 20 minutes later she came back and said "Ms. ****, I apologize but we have decided not to give you the refund because we feel too many customers call and take advantage of our policies by asking for refunds.. OH, I am SO glad we were not face to face, I would have given her the look to end all looks.. I couldn't believe the hypocrisy in her statement. I reminded her that she worked for the company and did not own it, and that in all actuality the company robs its customers.. wow, I felt like I was being crushed by some weird totalitarian company that just didn't care. The nerve of her response, wow. I said, yet again, that I had been loyal to the company and could not believe the way they were treating this issue. Of course, the companies defense was their terms and conditions.. how convenient. While still trying ot reason with this woman, she abruptly interrupted me and said she was sending me to another supervisor.. so I waited AGAIN for 30 minutes for this new supervisor.

So, let me wrap this up by saying nothing happened in my favor. Also, they misinformed me about how the over draft fees work. Before my check came in, a company went into my account and took a 17 dollar payment. My check went in two hours later, and Netspend also refused to credit me that over draft fee, which is complete and absolute robbery. They said this was because I never paid the other over draft fee (the one this story is about), so they charged me another over draft fee despite the fact that my check came in two hours later, which meets their "less than 24 hours" guidelines. This company may seem all la-ti-da because they give you a 10 dollar lee way when your funds run out, and because their over draft fees are only 15 bucks, but really, they compensate by charging millions of customers ridiculous and unnecessary fees here and there, and refuse credits left and right.

So, basically they did not honor me as a customer, despite all the bullcrap fees I have paid in the past, they did not make me feel appreciated, they robbed me again by misinforming me and charging me another over draft fee, even tho the charge was covered less than 2 hours later, they kept me on hold for a total of an hour and a half, and discouraged me completely. How is that for customer service? Over draft fees are not this black and white problem. I am a human being who is giving my money, time and energy to this card. I use it everyday and put my trust in it, how dare they treat me the way they did. It makes me sick.

This simply isn't a good company, hence the outsourcing and the miscellaneous fees all over the place. No bank is a saint, but there are banks out there that will not charge over draft fees, and will prevent their customers from being debited while their accounts are vulnerable. Use Google to locate banks without over draft fees. Unfortunately for me, until I find something new that doesn't mind my credit I am stuck with this creepy company. I will keep my eye on my account so I can avoid ever having to communicate with customer service again. This company keeps a thick wall between the customer and it's true financial implications, meaning you as the customer is on one end, and their true priorities are on the other. This company is capable of functioning as your bank, but it is by no means trustworthy.

I can't imagine what you people with unauthorized transactions go through.. bless your hearts.

Company Response 07/18/2011:Dear CardHolder,

We truly apologize for the problems you have experienced with our customer service and overdraft program.

This level of service will not be tolerated and we would like the opportunity to address the representatives that you have spoken with. Rest assured that we are going to do our best to come up with a good resolution to better assist you and all our valued cardholders.

Our overdraft service is a program that needs to be opted-in to before it is active. During the time of enrollment, you must agree to the terms and conditions which states when the overdraft fees will be charged.

We do appreciate your loyalty and we would like to assist you with your concern. Please send us an email at feedback@netspend.com and we will get back with you.

If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us via email or call customer service at 1-86-NetSpend (1-866-387-7363).

Thank for you for choosing NetSpend.

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Don't Trust Netspend With Large Funds Of Cash Deposits Or SSI/SSDI, Nor Pay Checks Or Any Other Check

Posted by KCal on 03/30/2010

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- I don't believe it is safe for anyone to use Netspend for any of their direct deposits such as employer paychecks, SSI/SSDI, state or government disability checks, or retirement checks; nor do I believe it is safe to deposit large sums of cash to be used for purchases with the use of a Netspend card, as you may not have money credited back into your account for up to 3-4 months once you have reported a theft or unauthorized transaction(s) from your account to Netspend.

I also do not believe that Netspend operates like other large credit card carriers or banking institutions, such as providers like Wells Fargo, which immediately replaces stolen funds back into your account while they investigate a theft or fraud that has occurred with your account. Netspend leaves you hanging with no monies left in your account at all while they do their own investigation, and then pass it off to another company like Visa who can then take up to 30-90 days after Netspend has strung you along. Mortgage companies, landlords, car payment companies, and utility companies don't care about your personal lose of funds, and apparently neither does Netspend. Netspend also doesn't care if you are unable to feed yourself, as once your funds are stolen you have to wait for up to possibly 4 months before funds may ever be returned to your account. You could end up on the street and/or without a car and food before the matter is resolved. You as a Netspend customer will not receive funds that have been stolen from your account for a very long time, period. Consumer Beware. Especially, in these hard economic times where people have lost their credit cards and are now relying on companies like Netspend to fill the void.

We all seem to lull ourselves into a false sense of security where large credit card companies are concerned, and believe me when I tell you that companies like Netspend will NOT do the right thing while your life is turned upside down. This may be because the company doesn’t have to follow the same rules that major credit card carriers have to, but the then again Netspend preys on persons who may not be able to get a bank account for one reason or another, and I believe that they have a niche market with disabled, and low income persons. Yes, I think Netspend targets (preys on) the customer most in need of credit card services and/or check cashing services, but they fail to tell the customer (except perhaps in tiny-tinny print) that their monies from SSI/SSDI or any other income source will not be immediately credited back to their account once they have been stolen from their Netspend account, until the matter is investigated by Netspend, and then Visa. The recovery process with Netspend is very long and you need to have other income sources to pay for faxing services (if you don't have a computer and fax machine), and a Public Notary fees along with any fees associated with mailing documents to Netspend. I don’t believe that Netspend has the proper safeguards in place to protect your funds, which you may have entrusted with them. So be careful...your money could disappear for a very long time before any matter is resolved with Netspend. For persons with no other income source once your SSI/SSDI or other paycheck is deposited, and then stolen from your Netspend account you may be facing a situation that does not include a home, food or vehicle in your future.

Please read what is happening to me before you make the same mistake as I did.

Netspend is not repaying $1,500 of my funds, which I had deposited in cash into my now canceled Netspend account (card). This all started well over a month ago, and Netspend has been dragging their feet with their Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) by requesting documents about two-and-half-weeks had elapsed from my initial report regarding my card number theft (not the card itself). They requested a signed affidavit stating that I did not participate in any of the unauthorized charges; and did not authorize the use of my card number by anyone else to use for stolen purchases I had reported to them back in February. They also wanted a police report filed. Netspend should have asked for these documents the same day that I reported the theft, not weeks later. Now I have been told that they will turn the matter over to Visa who will conduct their own investigation, which will take anywhere from 30-90 days in order for them to respond to the theft/fraud that occurred. This means that if I ever see my money ($1,500) again, it could be well over three-months and maybe up to four-months since I first reported the theft on February 26, 2010.
On March 19 I sent the documents that Netspend had requested, which was a notarized affidavit (cost me $10.00, plus a $2.85 for delivery with proof of receipt of delivery confirmation) and the police report. They received this on March 23, 2010, however when I spoke with them on March 24 I was told that they had not received the documents even though I had proof of delivery. I have been told that I may still be charged a $50.00 fee if I ever get my stolen money back. I don't know what this fee is for as I reported the theft in less than 12 hours while the charges were still pending. Netspend monies may be given back to me once Visa has resolved the case on their end, and maybe not or I least that is what I was told by Netspend. I wasn't told how long Netspend had to submit the documents to Visa, which I sent to them over a week ago, as they claim even though I have proof of delivery from UPS, that these documents were not received at the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC).

I am beginning to believe that even though the personnel at the Netspend DRC are very polite and nice on the phone that their job is to ensure that matters like this do not take priority. What does take priority is recruiting new customers and making persons like me sit through prerecorded messages that encourage me to sign-up for direct deposit of all my paycheck or government checks and thus use Netspend for all of my banking needs, and transactions. Trust me when I say I want to vomit, and I have contemplated the possibility of placing a loaded gun in my mouth for entrusting such a large sum of money to a company like Netspend, but at least I still consider myself fortunate enough to have a working phone in order to call Netspend every few days to hear these nauseating prerecorded messages: These messages help remind me what an idiot I was for depositing $1,500 cash on a Netspend card to begin with. To date I have now incurred a total $1,522.80 in lost monies. I also had to pay $9.95 for a new card at Netspend as I had monies being charged back to the stolen, (now canceled card) from stores that owed credit back to me. The funny thing is, is that one of the customer service persons at Netspend actually suggested that she lift the cancellation on my stolen card number and deposit these funds owed back to me on that stolen card number, as I had expressed an extreme lack of trust in use of my old card, or any Netspend card ever again. I didn't really want to activate the new Netspend card, and then have monies stolen again, since we don't know how the original $1,500 was taken from my card to begin with. So, let’s see...I guess we just add more funds back to the stolen card where the card number has already been reported as stolen, and reactivate it so that the thieves can take more of money from my account. WOW. I guess customer service is not aware of any anti-theft procedures or why it continues to happen. Did these persons in customer service at Netspend go through any anti-fraud or theft avoidance training? I can't believe that they did, especially after that conversation. Frightening!

Here is the initial report filed with Netspend:

I noticed two unauthorized charges on my credit card account with NetSpend on the morning of 2/26/10 at approximately 3:30 AM (PST), and immediately canceled my VISA card ending in the numbers XXXX. The VISA credit/debit card ending in XXXX was used twice in order to make unauthorized purchases in Seattle, WA (college area) on the evening of 2/25/10. However, NetSpend reports the charges occurred at 18:06:09:0 on 2/26/10 at BEST BUY in Seattle, WA where an unauthorized charge for $900.00 was made with my credit card number, and 18:06:14:0 at TARGET in Seattle, WA where another unauthorized charged was made for $600.00 with my credit card number. My credit card was in my physical possession when these unauthorized charges were made. At no time have I ever lost or misplaced my VISA credit card number ending in XXXX. I did not lend nor allow the use of my VISA credit card (XXXX) by another person nor authorize the use of my card number for someone else to make the aforementioned unauthorized purchases in Seattle, WA nor did duplicate or authorize the duplication of my Netspend or any credit card.

Best Buy’s Consumer Relations Department was able to tell me that the $900.00 charge placed on my NetSpend card at this Best Buy store (#470), which is located at 330 NE Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98125, was used to purchase a total of three Best Buy gift cards for the amount of $300.00 each. I attempted to call this store all day yesterday, but the circuits were busy according to an automated message from AT&T, and I was never allowed to reach this store so that they could possibly have these fraudulently purchased Best Buy cards canceled before they were billed to my account or at least hold the security tape for the police to review. I did not authorize nor allow any other person to make this purchase or transaction at Best Buy.

I was unable to find out anything about the other unauthorized transaction at Target for $600.00, as Target Consumer Relations Department said they would not deal with anyone who had a problem with a unauthorized third-party credit card transactions used at any of their store locations, and advised me to be contact my credit card company which I had already done.

I noticed the two unauthorized charges on my credit card account with NetSpend on the morning of 2/26/10 at approximately 3:30 AM (PST), and immediately canceled my VISA card ending in the numbers XXXX. I called NetSpend on 2/26/10; they explained that a dispute report would need to be filed. The VISA credit/debit card ending in XXXX was used twice in order to make unauthorized purchases in Seattle, WA on the evening of 2/25/10. However, NetSpend reports the charges occurred at 18:06:09:0 on 2/26/10 at BEST BUY in Seattle, WA where an unauthorized charge for $900.00 was made with my credit card number, and 18:06:14:0 at TARGET in Seattle, WA where another unauthorized charged was made for $600.00 with my credit card number. My credit card was in my physical possession when these unauthorized charges were made.

Best Buy’s Consumer Relations Department was able to tell me that the $900.00 charge placed on my NetSpend card at this Best Buy store (#470), which is located at 330 NE Northgate Way, Seattle, WA 98125, was used to purchase a total of three Best Buy gift cards for the amount of $300.00 each. I attempted to call this store all day yesterday, but the circuits were busy according to an automated message from AT&T, and I was never allowed to reach this store so that they could possibly have these fraudulently purchased Best Buy cards canceled before they were billed to my account or at least hold the security tape for the police. I did not authorize nor allow any other person to make this purchase or transaction at Best Buy.

I was unable to find out anything about the other unauthorized transaction at Target for $600.00, as Target Consumer Relations Department said they would not deal with anyone who had a problem with a third-party credit card used at any of their store locations, and advised me to be contact my credit card company which I had already done.

At no time have I ever lost or misplaced my VISA credit card number ending in XXXX. I did not lend nor allow the use of my VISA credit card (XXXX) by another person nor authorize the use of my card number for someone else to make the aforementioned unauthorized purchases in Seattle, WA nor duplicate my credit card.

My question is, who except thieves buy large amounts of gift cards in the spring? Best Buy employees and Target employees must have failed the same anti-fraud training (if any was provided) that the Netspend personnel did. I have been told recently that cash cards are great for retailers, as they always get paid. I have also been apprised that persons who want to sell stolen cards, apparently on web sites like eBay benefit from the use of cash cards as well. Amazing, the slimy world we live in. Is there a special spring Christmas or Christmas type holiday that occurs in spring, which I am unaware of? Netspend thought the purchases $300.00 each for gift cards in February was appropriate, so I guess so. Who knew.

Company Response 04/13/2010:Firstly, we want to apologize that your card number was compromised and your funds were stolen. This is a situation we do not want to see any of our card holders in, but understand that it does happen. Each claim is different so it is difficult in determining an exact time frame of when your claim will be resolved (We hope it has been resolved by this point.) You definitely did everything possible on your part to get in the necessary documentation and by blocking your card. We try to resolve our disputes as quickly as possible and apologize that you have had to wait so long. We are considered a financial institution but we are not necessarily a bank. For this reason we are not always able to issue money back right away while the investigation is done. In our terms and conditions we list the 50 liability and charge this fee because NetSpend will pay this out of its own pocket, it is not actually money that we win back. We truly hope your dispute has been resolved at this point and thank you for your patience with us.

If you have any questions feel free to call us at 1-866-387-7363.

NetSpend Corp.

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Netspend Trap's People Money During The Holiday!

Posted by dninc on 11/25/2009

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- I've been a long time happy as hell Netspend user for over 3 years now, I have a short temper but I gave this company the benefit of the doubt many time..
First problem was them holding charges back for almost a week and then slamming my account with all of the past purchases I made that entire week, I hadn't had time to check my account periodically all the time so I relied on my phone to text me my balance, I hadn't notice my final text I got was an old balance I had so I made a few more purchases thinking I had a good amount of money left.

Then I get slammed with all of the last week's purchases made and end up in the negatives..

Now I have this problem today 'TODAY 11/25/09' the day before thanksgiving, Netspend is closed, There's no customer service to contact, no one to talk to in technical support, your directed over the phone to go to Netspend.com and see what help you can get there, and the website is totally down, I mean the entire domain is like shut down as if it doesn't exist anymore, I'm currently scared all of my funds are done for and I'm going to be in for a fight to get my money from a company that can pretty much vanish without a trace at any moment.
I'm going to make some attempts at mailing them hopefully my funds are available before the mail get to them, I'm going to also track their bank down and contact them.
I'm also reporting this to the BBB.

It's as if they all took a vacation and have forgotten real people have real money on these cards, I just got paid and I'm relying on that money to gas my car up so I can get to my family, if I can't go anywhere I'm going to be FURIOUS!
Then on top of that my car needs maintenance, I will literally lose my job if I don't show up Friday due to no gas!! These people need to seriously find a way to let people know they are going to be experiencing some problems and allow us time to pull some funds out before they go down..
I'm feeling hopeless at this point. they have literally crippled me financially, I'm looking around for a real bank account now, I didn't want to have to deal with the fee's and all the mess so I went with this company but if this is what I got to go through HELL NAW!!

Resolution Update 11/26/2009:The Netspend Website appears to be up and running now and everything looks in place. i'll call this resolved, however if it happens again i'll be back on here or wherever my complaints are welcomed.

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Netspend Worst Idea Ever!

Posted by Deir on 11/30/2013

Rating: 1/51

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN -- Trying to get a bill paid due to bank account not being in order. I purchase the Pay Pal debit card. I put 50 bucks on it to cover the bill. I call to activate the card and I get asked maybe about a 4 to 5 times my address and SS.

Finally I get a customer service agent who lets me know that I need verification credentials in order to activate. OK.. not so bad, but after faxing in some info.

I called back to check for activation as I had sent everything they needed to verify me. I got in touch with an agent after the same vetting process that I received earlier. The Agent states that they were unable to see my SS card due to the fax (which was fax from my workplace so I know that it shouldn't have been horrible quality) So I sent two more faxes with a brighter resolution just in case so there would be no issue. I wait their 8 business hrs and call back to check and the agent tells me this time (after the same crappy vetting process) that there is problem due to the difference in my current address and my old address on my DL and I will need mail to verify my current address. So I faxed mail, a bill from AT&T that has my address and name on it. Called back after another wonderful 8 business hrs only to find that the mail wasn't good enough and I needed an actual bill, which it was. Hold on it gets better folks, after re sending via fax numerous times I give them the weekend to square this. I call them and this time they are not receiving my faxes now. I sent these documents over 10 times and they can't locate the info. All I want to do is pay a bill. They have all my current info but they still can't activate my card meanwhile I got 50 bucks I can't spend and my Internet account is about to go up due to lateness. So I'm heated of course and decide to talk to MGR, on hold for about a half hr I reach a supervisor who tells me that whatever dept hasn't sent up my information and that in order to be able to use the card to pay a bill online I still need those credentials authorized. This is after at least 4 to 5 calls to Netspend, two to three people asking me my address and social three different times and on each call.

So with that I was fed up I want my money back Rosie I think her name informed me that it will take twenty business days in order to get my money back, which I heard prior while snapping on an agent on the phone about them not getting my info after at least 24 business hours. This is actually the second time I have talked to "Rosie" who has no Idea what is happening or why my info has not been processed.

So I'm fed up of course since now my bill has defaulted and I have the money that I was to use stuck at Netspend. I chose to not use the card, they wanted me to just activated for store use early on but I refused. So I asked for money back regardless of the twenty day wait (which just seems ridiculous).

So I took down "Rosie's" Info and tried to get her managers info which she refused.I wanted some type of confirmation that I would get my money back and she had none just the ref number they gave me for the initial fax that they could never recover. SO now it's about two and a half weeks past the twenty days and I give them a call. I get Ann who states that someone never deposited the check that needed to be sent. Of course she is so sorry, not sorry enough to expedite my money because another twenty days needs to go by before I get my the money. So I give in, just activate the card so I can use the money on something. I'm sure that works for them because they get a nice 5% of it. Something tells me that this was the plan all along.

So, way too much hassle just to pay a bill. I wouldn't recommend to an enemy or maybe I would. I would def stay away from Netspend and all its associates.

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My Experience With Netspend

Posted by Kayrus on 07/05/2013

Rating: 5/51

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- OK just wanted to say a couple things. First of all Netspend card is a prepaid Credit card. It has the added features of a checking account so that you may setup direct deposit if you like. But it is still just a prepaid card. There are fees associated with the use of a prepaid credit card... reloading, use, ATM access, etc. Think of it like this obviously people like me or you who have a Netspend card most likely have credit and/or money problems otherwise you would not need to have a prepaid Card. So I am truly sorry to anyone who has had a bad experience with them but it is your own responsibility to keep track of your spending.

My advice is to keep track of your balance and account for any active cards. Netspend and Metabank are legitimate companies and I really doubt their employees are going around spending their customers money. Me personally had a horrible experience with BofA when I opened up a checking account just for direct deposit... apparently every thing went through just fine and my direct deposit was processed. On the day before pay day I went to check status of my account. Turns out my account was flagged as high risk and they closed it without my knowledge.

When I called them they told me they would mail me a cashier's check for the balance. Now the big problem was my boss has already submitted Payroll and the money was already deducted from her account. Bank of America and Inuit payroll stated that it could be up to two weeks before the money would credit back to my bosses account. I had a Netspend account that I didn't use very much so since I needed the money desperately my boss setup direct deposit with my Netspend account. I was skeptical at first but didn't have much choice as I needed the money ASAP and my work only paid through direct deposit. Unbelievable but the day my boss submitted my payroll... that night exactly at midnight my funds posted and were immediately available.

So more than a year later my credit has greatly improved but I still prefer my Netspend card over a regular bank. Thank you Netspend for helping me out of my jam. You made a loyal customer out of me. My only complaint would be the ATM fees but I guess that is to be expected :-D